Zutara Week Compilation
by Eyes for Eternity
Summary: A compilation of my previously unpublished works for past years' Zutara Weeks.
1. Zutara Week 2008, Day 1: Denim

_zutara week 2008 | day one | denim_

The Fire Lady stands before the mirror, running her fingers over the heavy fabric of her gown. She frowns.

"_What on earth am I wearing?_" she asks. The fabric is thick and heavy; she can already feel sweat dripping down her neck from the heat. The tailor finishes pinning a corner down.

"It's a brand new type of fabric, Lady Katara. Someone in the Fire Colonies created it; it's supposed to be very durable. All the noble ladies have these dresses. Are you not fond of it, my lady?" The tailor is a young woman, no older than twenty. Her face is wide-eyed and worried. Katara smiles.

"It's...interesting. Yes, I suppose I like it." The tailor smiles and continues pushing pins into the thick fabric.

Later that evening, Katara stands in the middle of the Fire Lord's chambers, staring at the dress. Zuko walks in, shutting the door behind him. When his eyes fall upon her, he smiles.

"Zuko! Oh, don't look at me like that. Apparently this is the new fashion. I'm only keeping it because that poor tailor girl looked so hopeful, and I just couldn't tell her no, and...it's really heavy and it gets _terribly_ hot after a while...are you even listening?" Zuko's grin widens and he takes her into his arms.

"I'm listening."

"Do you know what it's called?"

"Denim."


	2. 2008, Day 2: Electrifying

_zutara week 2008 | day two | electrifying_

Workers scuttle around the palace, filling the halls with the clink of metal and friendly banter.

"What are they doing?" Katara asks. Zuko walks beside her, glancing up and down the hallway as the renovations continue.

"The lights are going to run off of electricity now. It's supposed to be easier for the servants; they just flip a switch instead of going through and lighting every torch and candle in the palace. These lights should be brighter, too." Katara stops at an empty work station, looking at the small metal contraption.

"Electricity? Like lightning?" A spark of fear slips into her voice.

"It's completely contained, it won't hurt anyone. They've been doing this in Ba Sing Se since last year." Katara reaches a hand up to the open circuit.

"Katara, don't–"

A small jolt of electricity runs through her fingertips and she jumps back.

"Ow!" Zuko takes her hand in his and glances at the flesh, checking for a burn that isn't there. He looks up at her and laughs.

"What? What's so funny?" His laughter stops, but he is still smiling.

"Nothing. You're just..._electrifying_." Katara rolls her eyes and they continue down the hall.

The servants don't tell the Fire Lady that her hair is standing on end.


	3. 2008, Day 3: Smug

_zutara week 2008 | day three | smug_

They stand at the edge of the ballroom; the guests seem to be having fun at the wedding reception, but no one is happier than the Fire Lord and the newly crowned Fire Lady.

"Today went well," Katara says. Her eyes glitter and her fingers flutter over the silk of her wedding gown. Zuko squeezes her arm and smiles.

"It certainly did." A nobleman strides over to the couple, smiling and offering an arm to Katara. She shrugs at Zuko before following the man to the middle of the ballroom, dancing dancing in her way, movements as smooth as the water she bends. Zuko finds himself chatting up the other guests and laughing at Sokka's jokes which are, for once, actually funny.

The night comes to a close. The couple bids farewell to the guests and retires to the Royal Chambers. Katara sits before the vanity and hums an old water tribe lullaby as Zuko hangs his robes in the wardrobe. As she combs away her updo, she catches Zuko's face in the mirror. Pulling her loose hair into a braid, she turns and raises an eyebrow at him.

"What are you so smug about?" His smirk transforms into a genuine smile.

"I know that I'm the only person that can make you this happy."


	4. 2008, Day 4: Manipulative

_zutara week 2008 | day four | manipulative_

"How _dare_ you be so manipulative? I was terrified! You're horrible!" Katara is livid. She stands on the beach in wet sand, unaware of the ocean tide that jumps erratically behind her.

"Katara, if you would give me a minute to explain–" Zuko is calm in front of her, his face serene and his voice even.

"_Explain?_ You want to _explain_ why you left without telling anyone, without telling _me_ that you were coming to Ember Island? Why you had no problem convincing me that you had _died_ or been _kidnapped_? Go ahead, Zuko. Explain," she yells. Waves lap at her heels and he feels a few stray drops rain onto his feet.

"Come on," he says, walking back up to the house, beckoning her on. Katara reluctantly follows him up the beach and the sea calms at her absence. They stride through the hallways until Zuko stops at an unmarked room. He pushes the door open and lets Katara enter first.

"Oh…" Her Fire Lady robes are draped over the back of a chair. Instead of the dark reds and oranges she's become accustomed to, the inner layers of the gown are a deep navy. The gold collar is replaced with a vibrant blue one.

"I had the tailor manipulate your dresses. Just because you're Fire Lady doesn't mean you relinquish loyalty to your home. It's not exactly traditional, but...neither are we." He slips her hairpiece onto her topknot and pins it. Katara turns to the mirror and gasps. Embedded in the center of the gold crown is the pendant of her mother's necklace.

"Thank you, Zuko."


	5. 2008, Day 5: Mythology

_zutara week 2008 | day five | mythology_

"Zuko, if I'm going to be Fire Lady, I should probably know something about Fire Nation beliefs. You don't have another meeting until four. Enlighten me." Katara wraps her arms around her knees and stares at Zuko intently. He sighs and sits in front of her.

"The Fire Nation really hasn't been all that religious since before Sozin's reign, Katara. The Fire Sages are corrupt, the dragons are nearly extinct, and until just recently the Avatar was seen as an enemy. There's not a lot to tell," he says, shrugging and beginning to stand back up.

"I'm curious." With a sigh, he settles back onto the ground and looks at her.

"What do you already know?"

"Well, once we visited a village that had a kind of guardian spirit, the Painted Lady. And I know that the dragons used to be sacred, right?"

"Right. Anyway, when the Fire Sages used to rule the Fire Nation, before the monarchic system began, there were a few designated spirits for particular things. The primary ones were…"

Katara braids back her hair later that evening while Zuko reads over law proposals and requests from distant villages. She sits on the bed and looks at him from across the room.

"Zuko?"

"Yeah?"

"You still believe in all the Fire Nation mythology, right?" He raises his eyes to hers.

"I do."


	6. 2008, Day 6: Stare

_zutara week 2008 | day six | stare_

It is an ideal Fire Nation day. The sun is bright in the clear sky and a warm breeze blows through the Palace Gardens. Zuko and Katara sit beside the turtleduck pond, legs crossed and fingers buried in the grass. Servants hurry through the garden, clipping grass and pulling weeds and trimming bushes. The Fire Lord and Lady don't notice them, however; they've become too entranced in each other's eyes. Katara's eyes begin to water, but she stubbornly holds them open, unwilling to look away.

"Ha! You blinked!" Zuko cries, pumping his fist in the air at his victory.

"I did not! My eyelid just...twitched a little! I want a rematch!" Katara says indignantly.

"Face it, Katara, my stare is stronger than yours."


	7. 2008, Day 7: Pinch

_zutara week 2008 | day seven | pinch_

"Those look decidedly uncomfortable," Katara says, staring worriedly at the shoes. The slippers are made of a deep crimson silk and edged with gold satin. They're the perfect size for her feet, she decides, except for their one flaw. They come to a sharp point at the front.

"I'm sure they're not as bad as they look. My mother and Azula had similar ones and they never complained," Zuko says, trying to reassure her.

"That's because your mother and Azula were born with dainty Fire Nation royalty feet." Zuko rolls his eyes at this, squeezing her arm.

"They're supposed to be part of the Fire Lady attire; just try them on, I'm sure it won't be that bad. I'll come get you a little while before the meeting starts, okay?" he asks, walking towards the door.

"Okay," Katara calls after him. She picks up one of the slippers and slips it onto her foot.

Zuko returns several hours later. Katara is sitting on the bed, and has returned to staring at the shoes. She looks up when he walks in.

"They pinch."

When the Fire Lady walks into the meeting wearing the Fire Lord's boots, the noblemen have a hard time staying silent.


	8. Zutara Week 2009, Day 1: Crossover

_zutara week 2009 | day one | crossover_

He is not alone. As Zuko lies in bed, he is surrounded by Katara and many of his friends. His breaths are shallow and his eyes are only half-open.

"Hold on, Zuko. Just stay awake, okay?" Katara's voice is muffled and warped; he struggles to separate the words from each other and make sense of her sentences.

"Katara–"

"No, Aang. He'll make it. Zuko's strong." Zuko squeezes her hand tighter. She responds with a sob. He glances around at the group before his eyes settle on the Avatar.

"Don't let the world go to hell, Aang." The monk smiles sadly before squeezing the Fire Lord's free hand quickly.

"We'll be outside, Katara. Take as much time as you need." Katara mumbles a response to her brother, her eyes never straying from Zuko. And they are alone.

"I'm so sorry, Zuko. I tried but the water just didn't want to do what I wanted, even the Spirit Oasis water, and I just couldn't–"

"Katara."

"I love you so much, Zuko." Through his haze, he smiles.

"We all have to crossover sometime, Katara."

"Not now. Just hold on, I'm sure if you can just last a few more hours it'll pass and you'll be fine and–"

"I love you, Katara." His grip loosens and his eyelids slip closed; she holds tighter and opens her eyes wider.

The breath leaves both of them and the Fire Lady is alone.


	9. 2009, Day 2: Blood

_zutara week 2009 | day two | blood_

"Fire Lord, we have a problem. The guards at the East doors were found unconscious and the doors were wide open. Someone is in the palace; you and Fire Lady Katara must get downstairs." Zuko nods and stands, lowering the flames surrounding the throne. He and Katara follow the guard to the door of the throne room before she stops short.

"Do you have the children?" The guards look at each other blankly. Katara runs past them and out to the Palace Garden.

She bursts into the darkness of the garden; the stars and the full moon shine above her. The sound of the Prince yelling echoes past the trees and bounces off the walls of the palace; she runs toward it.

"Mom!" The Prince and Princess are bound at the wrists; a man in black is dragging them toward the gate.

This is the second time he has seen her bloodbend. The man falls to the grass, limbs writhing in an unnatural and terrifying way. Zuko hurries forward and burns the ties around the children's wrists before gathering them up and settling them on the ground next to Katara. She releases her stance and joins them in the grass as the guards tie up the man in black.

"Mom!" the Prince cries, burying himself in her arms. She wipes a drop of blood from the corner of his mouth.


	10. 2009, Day 3: Jealousy

_zutara week 2009 | day three | jealousy_

Water wraps around Katara's hands and begins to glow. She presses her fingers to the burn and his skin feels cool. The flesh becomes numb for a moment before he feels the paths of energy begin to twine back together in their proper order.

When she looks up she meets Zuko's glare. Her eyes narrow in response.

"A girl might expect a little gratitude from the person they're healing. Or at least aloofness."

"I am grateful."

"Then why are you glaring at me?" Zuko doesn't respond immediately.

"Your waterbending gives you such amazing power, Katara. You're cool and collected and you can _heal_. Firebending can't do that. Fire is just unbridled life that gets out of hand and harms people. I guess I've developed a jealousy for what you get to do."

"You have no reason to be jealous."


	11. 2009, Day 4: Cactus Juice

_zutara week 2009 | day four | cactus juice_

"Katara! Katara, you _have_ to go out to the garden. Do you know what Sokka and I found in the pond?" Zuko jumps up and down at Katara's side, wide-eyed and enthusiastic. Katara resists the urge to kill Sokka; she decides to go along with her husband's intoxicated antics instead.

"What did you find, Zuko?" she responds with a sigh. He looks quickly from side to side before pulling her closer and cupping his hand around his mouth.

"We found..._a lion turtle_."

"What an interesting discovery. How do the turtleducks feel about a lion turtle sharing their home?" Zuko smiles and pulls her toward the doors.

"They welcomed him, of course. They all moved over to one side of the pond to accommodate him; you know, because lion turtles take up so much space and all. Such polite turtleducks we have at the palace; I imagine they must've picked it up from my mother. Have you met my mother, Katara? She's the nicest koala sheep that ever lived. Sometimes I wonder how Azula came about; koala sheep can't have boarcupine children, it just doesn't make sense. It makes as much sense as a turtleduck living in the ocean. Hey Katara, did I tell you that the turtleducks have a new roommate? He's a," Zuko pauses, looks around frantically, and cups a hand around his mouth before whispering, "_lion turtle_."

Katara glances at the pond. A large boulder is nestled in between lily pads in the middle of the water.

"Wow, Zuko. You're right. Look at that. A lion turtle." Her deadpanned response is lost on him, but somehow her brother picks up on it from across the pond.

"Katara! How _dare_ you speak to the lion turtle in such a disrespectful manner? Apologize to his highness at this moment!" Sokka shouts angrily.

"I apologize if I disrespected you in any way, great lion turtle. Please forgive my insolence."

Katara leaves the garden when Zuko and Sokka begin bowing to the boulder.


	12. Zutara Week 2012, Day 1: Serendipity

_zutara week 2012 | day one | serendipity_

The Fire Lady's robes flutter as she hurries through the halls.

"Have you seen the children? The ship leaves in an hour and they still haven't packed their things!"

"No, Lady Katara, I haven't." She lets out a frustrated sigh and rushes past the servant, right into Lo and Li.

"Oh, good. Have either of you seen the children?" The twins smile and glance at each other secretively.

"I believe they and Fire Lord Zuko are in the gardens, Lady Katara," the old women say in unison. Katara, no longer unnerved by the twins' synchronized speech and proverbs, thanks them and marches out into the Palace Gardens.

Three shaded figures come into view at the edge of the pond.

"Zuko! What are you doing? The ship leaves in an hour, and the children haven't packed yet, and – why are you still in your royal robes? If you plan to wear them to visit the_ South Pole_ then be my guest, but don't complain when–"

"Lady Katara, I don't think he hears you," a gardener interrupts. She walks closer to see why her husband is ignoring her.

The Fire Lord is slumped against a cherry blossom tree, hair caught on the bark and silk robes pressed into the wet grass. The Princess is nestled into his left shoulder, motionless as pink petals float down onto her face; the Prince is lounged against his father's right shoulder, crown askew and tangled in his hair. The Fire Lady kneels to straighten it, only to disturb the family of turtleducks sprawled across the laps of her family.

Watching the slow rise and fall of their shoulders, Katara beckons over a guard.

"Please have a messenger hawk sent to the Southern Water Tribe. Tell my father that we'll be a day late." She folds her family into her arms and falls asleep.

"Moments of serendipity come at the most inconvenient of times." Lo and Li ignore the questioning looks that the servants cast at them.


	13. 2012, Day 2: Momentous

_zutara week 2012 | day two | momentous_

The turtleducks scatter as Katara's blue silk train brushes past them. She glides through the grass, ducking under cherry blossom branches where they grow too low.

Fire Lord Zuko looks up as she emerges from the trees. Katara's blue dress stands in stark contrast to the sea of red surrounding her; a lone water drop in a volcano. The sunlight glints off of the band holding her topknot and her choker glows.

The crowd stands as Katara joins Zuko on the gazebo. They turn toward the High Fire Sage and fall silent when he begins to speak.

"On this historic day, the Fire Nation and the Water Tribe are joined in the union of Fire Lord Zuko and Lady Katara. So soon after the end of the Hundred Year War, peace is reiterated today." He offers up a roll of parchment and a calligraphy brush. Zuko scrawls his name into the contract first; the lines are straight and sharp, drawn in quick movements. Katara dips the brush into an inkwell before signing her name to the right of his, her characters smoother and more rounded. Zuko steps away as Katara kneels at the top of the steps looking out over the gardens.

"By decree of Fire Lord Zuko, I now declare you Fire Lady Katara." The heavy golden hairpiece is pressed into her topknot and she stands. Zuko joins her and they are surrounded by applause.

"I told you we would be momentous," he whispers.


	14. 2012, Day 3: Transcend

_zutara week 2012 | day three | transcend_

Zuko closes the door, leaving behind a sleeping Katara and their presently unnamed infant. He wanders aimlessly through the halls of the palace for what feels like hours.

His feet come to a stop in the throne room and he sees his father behind a wall of flames. His father, who scorned him. His father, who burned him. His father, who banished him from the country because he was nothing more than a nuisance.

"You are afraid that you'll turn into him, Fire Lord Zuko."

"Don't call me that."

"It's your title now, nephew. Surely you've become accustomed to it after four years."

"I will never get used to it." Silence breaks the conversation and Zuko falls to his knees before the empty throne. The dark room is too eerie without vibrant flames illuminating the pillars; too empty without a ruler.

"I can't do it." Iroh chuckles and Zuko glares harder at the stone floor.

"Of course you can." They are both on the ground, facing the front of the chamber.

"No. I don't know if I can keep myself from–" He stops short before the thought is finished; if he says it aloud, there's no way to take it back.

"Katara will not let you become a monster."

"My mother was the strongest person in the world. She let him turn into a tyrant."

"You give your mother too much credit." Zuko grits his teeth.

"Why do you think Ursa was banished that night?" He squeezes his eyes shut and turns away.

"Your mother was a wonderful, caring woman, but she was not without fault. She loved your father too completely, and she was not born into a world where peace was feasible. She saw no difference in whether it was Ozai on the throne or Azulon. She saw that she could preserve your life and disregarded the possible consequences."

"You could've challenged him."

"I was a different man then, Zuko. I would've been no better than your father."

"So why am I so immune?"

"You aren't. You, just as every other Fire Lord in history, are vulnerable to corruption."

"Exactly, so–"

"But your friends aren't. Katara isn't." Zuko knows this is true. Katara has worked too hard to attain peace; she wouldn't throw it away to be able to live in a queen's luxury. Aang promised to kill him before he ruined everything (though whether he would have the strength to, when the time came, Zuko didn't know).

Iroh stands to leave.

"My mother. Roku was her grandfather. How could she let it happen?" The old man smiles sadly.

"You of all people should know that it is simple to follow a different path than that of your ancestors. To transcend. Unfortunately, it works the other way around as well."


	15. 2012, Day 4: Whimsical

_zutara week 2012 | day four | whimsical_

Katara's slippered feet pound through the wet grass, droplets of dew jumping up at her ankles. She glances frantically behind her, watching for the telltale bush of black hair and reaching out for the burn of a flame at her back.

She finds neither.

Her heels slip on the soaked ground as she reels to a stop; she catches the branch of a sapling to the left and pulls herself back upright. Straightening her robes and readjusting her now-askew slipper, Katara rakes her eyes in the spaces between the trees, trying to distinguish a human form in the darkness. The sound of crickets floods her ears and the humid Fire Nation air clings to her skin.

And then she is facedown on the ground.

And she can't breathe.

And she can't move because someone is pressing down on her hips and her shoulders and he is stronger than she is.

"Zuko, let me up." Instead of a verbal response, he flips her onto her back.

"Zuko." She glares at a face she can just barely make out in the middle of the night. His hands find their way to her midsection and her breath catches in her throat.

"Don't you _dare_–"

She is laughing, and he is laughing with her. Even in the dark, he can see her face flush a brilliant shade of pink and her lips part in a wide grin. In the dark, she can see how both of his eyes crease as his face is split in a smile.

In the dark, under the glow of the fireflies and the reflection of the moon in the turtleduck pond, the gardeners can see the whimsical scene of the Fire Lord and his Lady having a ticklefight in the middle of the Palace Garden.


	16. 2012, Day 5: Heartstrings

_zutara week 2012 | day five | heartstrings_

His heart gave out.

She is daydreaming again, and she watches as his eyes flutter and his limbs grow still and _his heart gives out_. She watches her own helpless fingers frantically splay over the cold flesh, trailing droplets of stale water. She feels her blood reach out to his. She feels her own heart break when it refuses to respond.

Any other way. If he had died _any other way_ than by his heart, maybe she wouldn't feel so horrible.

Because Zuko had given his heart to Katara, and she doesn't allow herself to let harm to come to things in her possession.

Even now, years later, her heartstrings are pulled to their limits, trying to follow him down.

Sitting in the garden, bathed in the waning light of a Fire Nation sunset, she pulls them back to herself. She retracts them so that her heart can be given to someone else.

Someone handsome.

Someone caring.

Someone who would die to protect her and kill to save her and who _just needs a mother_.

Someone like Zuko.

"Mom, dinner's starting. Great-Uncle Iroh says he's making your favorite tea tonight. Are you okay?"

Katara glances up from the turtleduck pond and smiles at the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. At her son.

"I'm fine. Everything is fine."

Wiping salty tears from her cheeks, she joins the new boy that has her heart.


	17. 2012, Day 6: Faded

_zutara week 2012 | day six | faded_

It takes her years to notice.

After a certain amount of time, it had just become something that was always just _there_. She stopped noticing its presence and saw beyond the color.

But today, when the children jump onto their bed at sunrise, Katara glances at his face and the realization slams her back into the mattress.

Zuko's scar has faded.

What once was a bright, noticeable crimson defacement has faded into a soft moon peach-pink blemish and she _notices_.

The Princess tugs on his hand and he begrudgingly sits up, letting out a theatrical sigh but smiling nonetheless.

And his left eye creases a little more than it once did.

* * *

"Are you going to the prison today?" Katara asks, blowing steam from the top of her teacup.

"Yes."

"Would you like me to visit the cook? I could have him whip up some tarts or–"

"I'll get it, Katara." She smiles softly and stands behind his chair, running her fingers through his hair.

He has kept it short, and a few of the strands have faded from their usual jet black to a muted grey.

"No one thinks any less of you, Zuko. Some of us respect you more for it." He spins around to face her, abandoning the scrolls at his desk and looking up into her face.

"He is a horrible man. He hardly deserves–"

"He's your father. If the Fire Lord wants to bring his father a few sweets and have a chat once a year, it is no one's place to scorn him." Zuko squeezes her hands before turning back to his paperwork.

"Custard tarts and candied ginger. The kitchen staff should have no problem finishing by sunset." Katara grins and treads softly toward the door, turning back just before she reaches for the handle.

"You aren't Ozai, Zuko. You never will be."

She realizes that his smile has never faded.


	18. 2012, Day 7: Seasons

_zutara week 2012 | day 7 | seasons_

She loves Fire Nation seasons.

After growing up on an iceberg, waking up to a bleak grey sky and a world of white every morning, Katara holds a deep appreciation for the yellow sunrise and the fire-sky at sunset. Her eyes spend too much time staring at the pinks of the Royal Garden's cherry blossoms, the greens of the low mountains on the islands, the browns of the turtleducks' shells.

The Water Tribes were white and blue and violet. There, she had one season, and it was white and blue and violet. It was violent. Icy blizzards buried villages and she had healed too many frostbite victims after too many cold nights.

The Fire Nation is black and red and gold. So much of the country is so _gold_.

Gran-Gran once had a gold necklace. It was old and abused and tarnished, and Katara once assumed that it was what gold was supposed to look like.

She was wrong.

Gold is warm to the heart and cool to the touch; bright in the darkness but dim enough as not to strain her eyes. Gold is the Palace Garden's ember-lilies in the spring; it's midday sun reflecting off of the turtleduck pond in the summer; it's dry leaves under her slippers in the fall.

In the Fire Nation's hot, dry winters, gold is Zuko's eyes.

Warm to the heart.

Cool to the touch.

Not all that bright in the darkness but alight enough that she can always find him.

In her Fire Nation winters with Zuko, she doesn't have to wrap herself up in a parka and hide away inside to stay safe. In the absence of the South Pole's dry, cold air, her skin doesn't chap and dull; it soaks up the humid air and bakes golden in the sun. Instead of melting into the colors surrounding them, her blue eyes stand out in reluctant contrast and–

"Your fascination with Fire Nation weather never ceases to amaze me."

She smiles as his arms wrap around her in the summer thunderstorm.


End file.
